Change is Coming!

Yes, changes to my blog! I finally sat down the past few days today to make the edits on my old blog (don't wanna mess this one up!) and am liking what I'm doing. Nothing major, just refining it a little more, cleaning up a few things, smoothing out the edges. That kinda thing. Finally change the color. I got way too tired of this pink theme. All I need is to fix up my header and tweak a few thangs and I am there! Thank you google and all the people who have posted tutorials, guides, how-to's and included screen shots for an even easier step by step. I can say it does make me feel good to do it on my own and look a little more decent. Maybe I can trick people into thinking its more professional than it is! LOL

So in the coming weeks, maybe even next week, I will be giving my blog a facelift. We have a long weekend coming up, so I'm sure I can get it all done. Until then, I don't think I will have any new posts. Sorry guys! 

Peace, Love, & Sunshine
- L

BMI Bullsh*t

Warning: This is a little bit of a ramble.

I spoke a little about this previously, but I know that I struggle with my weight. I find it hard to motivate myself. But for a little bit I was getting into it and working out, and it felt great! Then I fell off the wagon for a bit because of jury duty. Not an excuse, but I just couldn't make it work. I kept hoping each day would be the last, but it dragged out for almost 2 weeks. Then coming back to work I had to catch up on so many things. I had no time, energy, or motivation to work out. I still have been ok with my diet, I slipped up a bit, but I haven't had any noticeable weight gain. Not that it makes me in the clear, but at least I didn't completely go back to square one. But the one thing that has always plagued me is the BMI - Body Mass Index. It has almost always classified me as overweight, which at times I could understand, but I wasn't overweight all my life! More recently it's been telling me I'm Obese. I have a BMI of 30.1, so my Wii Fit says I'm obese and in danger of all these things, the Wellness Center at my job also says the same things. But then my waist is 32 inches and they say that's normal.

Now I am by far not trying to say I'm healthy. I know I'm not. My issue is with the BMI not accounting for the difference between fat/bone/muscle density (which are all different), body types/shapes, lifestyle, or male/female differentials. And I know I'm not the only one that thinks this way. I came across a few articles here, here and here. It makes me feel less crazy. I'm 5'5", 184 lbs, 32" waist, 38D/36DD, 41" hips. While I do have some excess in my abdomen that I want to lose, I do not look at myself in the mirror and see an obese person staring back. I carry most of my weight in my legs and lower half of my body, which is almost toned up. Plus that rack ain't light! If I could get rid of it I would. But I digress. It can be said the same of someone opposite. Someone mentioned it in the comments section on the article I linked above - "Number 11: On the opposite end of the spectrum, a person with low bone and muscle density may be deemed fit when in fact they may be too high in body fat percentage. This person could be a risk for heart disease, diabetes, etc. and not even be aware of it because his BMI appears normal." The BMI isn't all that reliable. Granted there are other ways to figure out your fat/muscle ratio, I just don't understand why this is so popular/mainstream, aside from being as cheap as it gets.

Having everyone tell me I'm obese and I'm going to die from all these diseases I'm at risk for gets on my nerves. For one it is disheartening to hear that I need to lose 40-50 lbs and a 'healthy' weight for me is 133-137 lbs. It makes the struggle seem even that much harder, that my goal is that much further. And its just not fair dammit. So I protest against the BMI and refuse to accept those numbers. I know how I feel and how I look. I'm (mostly) comfortable with the way I am and am taking the steps towards meeting my goals.

 Anyone else think their BMI category doesn't match up?

- L

Nair Milk and Honey Roll On Wax Review

I reviewed Nair Brazilian Spa Clay Roll on Wax and was pretty much sold on it. In fact I hadn't gone to get waxed professionally again, or bought/used any other wax - until now. For some reason, maybe it's just in the city - or I haven't looked hard enough, I can't find the Brazilian Spa Clay. At first I  tried to make Arabic sugar wax putty that I came across on Pinterest one night. I followed the steps in this video and lets just say that didn't turn out so great. I've seen the Milk and Honey roll on in a few stores though, and decided to just pick one up since it also has the reusable strips and washes off with water. I figured I couldn't go wrong since Nair proved themselves to me with the Brazilian wax.

Well as I learned before, not all waxes are created equal - even if from the same company. While the instructions/steps were the exact same, the wax's performance was not. Now I am by far not a professional, but I have gotten my method down pretty well. I know what works for me and by George this did not work as well as I had hoped. Maybe my hair was too thick/coarse (I tried only my legs. Couldn't bother use it on my arms after the experience.) I'm not really too sure, but either way it didn't remove all the hair. The hairs it did remove were not from the root. My legs were hairless, but not smooth at all. It felt like a 5'o clock shadow. Not cool and definitely not sexy. I didn't exfoliate my legs prior to waxing, but I never did that with the Brazilian spa clay and I didn't have this issue. With the other one I was baby's butt smooth. I also did find this one to be harder to wash off my skin and out of the strips. 

Despite my earlier gripes, I gave this a try again to do my arms and I can without a doubt say this is not for me. I thought it was just me last night, but my skin did turn so red after using this wax - at the appropriate temperature. I found this ironic because it says for sensitive skin :-\ Also it took repeated waxing (not supposed to I know) to remove most of the hairs. And I still had strays all over the place! Not good at all. The working time is short with this product too. After heating and letting it cool enough to handle, the wax started to become stiff, it was still warm, but not very workable. I barely got half my lower arm done before it was too unmanageable and had to be reheated and cooled. Not so with the Brazilian one. I also ended up using more wax, I did only arms and legs and have only a little left. Not enough for any applications, so I just threw it away. This has been such a disappointment. Guess I will stock up on the Brazilian one when I do find it. 

It is worth noting/mentioning that while I was skeptical about the Nair paper strips in the beginning because they are on the thin side, they are very resilient. I've been using the ones from my Brazilian kit for a few months now, and they're still holding up exceptionally well. Even when I get lazy and leave them in a bucket overnight soaking in water (gross I knew -__-) They don't get wilty or lose their shape or integrity. They haven't torn or ripped during waxing or washing or at all. They're in pretty good shape considering I don't take the best care of them. They dry fairly quickly so it helps since there are too few of them in the kit to do all of your legs. Usually after I finish waxing my lower leg, I'll wash some strips and hang them out to dry. This way I don't run out. It does cause some lag time in-between but nothing major. I'm usually never doing this in a rush. I couldn't imagine even trying to so this quickly. I keep saying I have to buy more strips but I still haven't made it to the beauty supply store yet. Eventually I will.

PROS:
    - washes off with water
    - strips are reusable
    - easily available

CONS:
    - hard to roll on/spread
    - short working time
    - not enough strips
    - very few applications
    - not so easy clean up, even though it washes off with water

Overall I wouldn't recommend this unless you have fine/thin hair and don't have a lot to take off to begin with. If you have coarse/thick hair I would skip it and go with the Brazilian Spa Clay wax instead.

- L

PS: My last post was my 100th!!! :)